Dear Neighbor,
Greetings, I am looking forward to Minnesota’s 91st Legislature session beginning at noon Tuesday, Jan. 8. We will be working with a new governor, a change of leadership in the Minnesota House of Representatives, as well many new state agency commissioners.
This session I will be serving on the following House committees: Agriculture and Food Finance & Policy Division, Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division and Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee (Republican Lead).
As the Republican lead on the Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Committee, I will be working closely with Rep. John Persell, D-Bemidji. who will chair that committee. We will also be working with a new DNR Commissioner. Governor-elect Walz has nominated Sarah Strommen as the next DNR Commissioner. She currently serves the DNR Assistant Commissioner for the DNR Fish and Wildlife Division.
As a member of the Agriculture Committee, we will also be working with a new Ag Commissioner. Thom Peterson of Pine City has been nominated to head the Department of Agriculture. I have known Mr. Peterson for many years; he has a good grasp of the challenges we face in this very competitive industry, including the timber wolf issue.
IRRRB Commissioner Mark Philips has been nominated to continue in that important job. Gov. Dayton appointed Commissioner Philips to head the IRRRB the same year I was appointed to the body. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Commissioner Philips on supporting our part of the Taconite Assistance Area which includes all of the Crosby-Ironton and Aitkin School Districts.
We have finished with changes at the State Office Building. With the shift from majority to minorit,y along with many new legislators coming in and a fair number of retirements, staff and most legislators’ offices have been swapped. My office is now on the 3rd floor, room 311. My office phone number (651) 296-2365 and email address both remain the same.
I also have a new legislative assistant. Emilie Nelson will be keeping me on schedule and taking care of the many administrative duties associated with the office. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of service and if you visit Saint Paul please stop in for a visit. Contact Emilie at emilie.nelson@house.mn or me at rep.dale.lueck@house.mn so we can get you on the schedule.
Please enjoy the remainder of this holiday season.
Sincerely,
Dale